Hrm.

[spacebug]

So, I replaced the battery this afternoon. And the bike started right up. Yay! Except it died as quickly as it started. And then I tried it again, and it did a little better, though it still needed revving to keep it from stalling. One of the pipes was also backfiring or popping some. I revved a bit and it seemed to stop doing that. Okay. And then I realized that gasoline was spewing from somewhere below the tank. Eek. Engine on the whole seemed much much much happier when the bike was upright instead of on its side stand, so... fuel line problems of some kind? I really have no idea. Gasoline stopped spewing (at least that I could tell) when I stopped the engine.
Any ideas, oh ye more mechanically inclined than me? Echoegami mentioned it sounds like I may need a new fuel filter, which might also explain the low idle. Blah.

Comments

[dangerdhotrod.livejournal.com]

i'm not remotely close to knowing really anything, but i think some possible explanations can be because of the timing of the controlled explosions (like my jeep was sounding all sputter-y and weak idle when the spark plugs were not all firing), or also another explanation can be because of the fuel mixture is messed up.

like air is mixed with the fuel for combustion and i think it's a pretty specific for it to work right. so if you're leaking fuel maybe there's air getting in there or not enough fuel? also wouldn't it make sense that the stalling is because the engine isn't getting enough fuel? i could maybe work at first because when the engine isn't running then the system is all full of fuel but once it is running then it's not being supplied properly.

but if you're leaking gas then that's probably the first thing to fix and see if that fixes it?

[rgeorge.livejournal.com]

Ack!

Could you tell where the gas was coming from? I can't think of many places it could leak from only while the engine was running. Carb float bowls and the intake manifolds are about all I can think of. But, if either of those was losing gas, it would definitely make that cylinder run lean and complain.

Fortunately, fuel filters are easy. In fact, I think your bike doesn't even have any except the strainer in the tank, which can be "cleaned" just by sloshing some fresh gas in there.

Might your residence be OK with you taking the bike inside for some more serious work? (assuming you put down safety blankets, and didn't run it indoors?)

Thanks for the windshield; the hardware is great, it disassembled easily, and I could even bend the stuff OK with a heat gun and some patience. It will look very different when I'm done.

[spacebug.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Maaaaybe. There's a section set up in the basement as a bicycle shop type thing. I'd feel a little weird about it as we don't even rent a storage space currently, but I could always ask. Or rent a storage space, in which case I don't think they can really tell me what I ought not store in it. :)

[spacebug.livejournal.com]

Oh, to answer the other question, no, I couldn't tell where the gas was coming from. It was running the best while I had it upright, and I couldn't hold it up and rev it and inspect the inner bits all at the same time. I thought about rocking it onto its center stand to take a look, but that's kinda tricky anyway, and even moreso where it's parked right now as its kind of on an incline.
Glad the windshield's working out at least.